Tourism trends - What do VisitEngland’s latest figures show?

Last Updated on December 11, 2015 by admin

We speak with holiday homeowners and their holiday home letting agents each and every day. This constant contact gives us an understanding of the issues you’re facing on a daily basis, but we also strive to understand the bigger picture; what’s making the industry tick, tourism trends and the opportunities these developments potentially provide you with.

In October we looked at the Great British Tourism Survey in our post Industry trends – What do they mean for holiday home bookings? and what it could mean for you as a holiday homeowner. This month we bring you an analysis from Visit England’s latest tourism trends dashboard along with the latest tourism trends and statistics.

Tourism trends – Occupancy rates are on the up

The great news is that occupancy rates across the country continue to rise. They’re up again year on year by another 2.3%, making that a five-year rise of 7.4%. This rise is evenly spread throughout the UK with Yorkshire, the North West, South West and East of England all enjoying five percentage point increases in recent years.

Tourism trends – The continuing emergence of the ‘Millennials’

What exactly is a Millenial? It’s the term given to those born between the 1980s and the turn of the century and they represent 15 million UK residents (31% of the adult population).

In terms of tourism they currently account for 28% of total overnight trips made in the UK, spending in the region of £4.4 billion on their way.

Perhaps the most interesting point for holiday homeowners is that their predominant reason for travel is to visit friends and family. This is increasing the number of short breaks and stays under three nights and may be linked to the continued rise in occupancy rates outside of the traditional peak months.

Tourism trends – Staycation vs Overseas Visits

Whilst much publicity is often given to the ‘staycation’ and figures related to those holidaying within the UK, the good news is that we continue to be a popular option for international travellers.

Latest figures show a total of 27 million visits were made from overseas visitors between January and September this year, a 3% increase on the same period in 2014.

The number of people visiting towards the end of summer is also on the up, with more than 3 million visits made in September alone.

Tourism trends – Visitors have more disposable income

Figures show that spending is on the increase with an extra 9% in tourist spend splurged during holidays in England between January and August.

This takes the total spent to a staggering £82 billion with the South West, South East and North West all accounting for visitor spending in excess of £9 billion each.

General feedback from across the industry is that visitor expectations are becoming more and more exacting; the good news for holiday homeowners is that they’re likely to be willing to pay for the quality that meets those expectations.

Positive outlook for next year

The majority are feeling more positive about their finances following the turbulent economic conditions of recent years and will now be looking at, if not, already booking trips and accommodation for next year.

Latest figures show people are cutting back less on holidays than they were in March 2014 and although the predicted number of short trips taken next year are down, VisitEngland expects a stable market for longer holidays in England.

If you are in the business of holiday letting you’ll want to ensure that your holiday home properties are adequately insured. For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

For more information on how our specialist holiday home insurance could help cover your property please give our friendly team a call on 01237 429444.